Page 69 of Nova

"Don't know yet," Promise stands, and I help her sit back on the exam table. "Someone should be in soon to let us know."

Great. More waiting.

It turns out, we don't have to wait long. An unfamiliar face walks into the room. "Mrs. Bailey?"

"Yes?" Promise replies.

"Hi," the doctor extends his hand to my woman. "I'm Dr. Lamer, the Orthopedic surgeon on staff today. His eyes land on me, unfazed by my hard gaze, as he takes in my appearance. "You must be, Mr. Bailey?" his brow quirks.

Accepting his offered hand, I give him a firm handshake. "Mr. Leblanc. She's mine." I don't try to hide my caveman possessiveness.

"You gonna piss on me too?" Promise seems amused by my territorial actions.

Dr. Lamer clears his throat. Walking across the room, he pulls the x-ray image from the manilla folder in his hand, clipping it to the light board on the wall. "You have a scaphoid fracture." He points to a small wrist bone in the image. "The good news is, it's not displaced, which means you won't require surgery to stabilize anything. However, you will require a cast to immobilize movement, which will extend over your thumb to limit mobility." Taking the image down, he places it back in the folder. Pulling a stool over, he sits in front of Promise. Carefully lifting her arm, he examines her wrist. "Swelling is minimal, so we should be able to hard cast you today."

"How long will I have the cast?" Promise asks.

"Ten to twelve weeks," Dr. Lamer explains. A young nurse walks in, pushing a cart. "While Hayley here gets you casted, I'll get your prescription written." Dr. Lamer stands and sifts through Promise's file. He lifts his head. "I see here you just found out you're expecting—congratulations." My woman's face lights up with the doctor's remark, and I have to say, my insides flop with illation as well. "Mr. Leblanc," Dr. Lamer regards me with another handshake, then turns his attention to Promise once more. "Miss Bailey," and suddenly, I hate hearing him address her by her last name. "I'll see you at the outpatient clinic in a week. Your appointment will be attached to your discharge papers."

"Thank you, doctor." Promise smiles at him and damned if my jealousy doesn't rise again when he flashes his smile back at her.

Once he exits the room, the nurse has her workstation organized, and all the things she needs to fix my woman up. "How long have you two been married?" Hayley asks, sitting beside the bed.

Promise, and I look at each other. "We're not married," Promise tells her.

"Yet," I quickly add. Promise and the nurse share a look. "What?" I ask, looking at the two sharing a giggle.

"He's a bit possessive, but I like that about him." Promise relaxes as Hayley begins to wrap her wrist with a soft cloth.

"I have one just like him at home." Her eyes lift to mine as I hover over my woman. "Okay. What color would you like?" she pulls out the bottom drawer of her cart, exposing a rainbow of wraps.

Promise takes a moment, thinking, and I chuckle. "What?" she looks back at me. "If I have to wear this ugly thing for twelve weeks, I want it to look good." She turns back around. "Purple." She confirms, and Hayley sets the chosen color aside.

A short time later, the nurse has her wrist immobilized, and the cast has hardened. "This cast is waterproof. Just make sure you keep the liner clean and use a blow dryer on the cool setting to dry it after showering." Hayley smiles. "Any questions?"

"Nothing comes to mind," Promise tells her.

The exam room door opens with a tap on the door, and Teagan pokes her head in. "How's it going in here?"

"Done," Nurse Hayley tells her. "She's all set." Then she turns to face us. "It was nice to meet you two."

Teagan opens the door all the way and walks in pushing a sonogram machine, and Nurse Hayley closes the door on her way out. "A sonographer from OB will be here any moment." Teagan peers over her shoulder as she fiddles with the monitor, and types on the keyboard.

Walking across the room, Teagan opens a cabinet, pulling a white folded sheet from inside. "Being that it's early in the pregnancy, they need to do a vaginal ultrasound."

Without hesitation, Promise nods. Leaning back, she lifts her hips, trying to shimmy her panties off from beneath her dress, while Teagan steps out. "A little help?" Promise huffs.

"Lay back, Sugar." Promise leans back against the raised bed, and my palms slide up the sides of her thighs. I feel her skin prickle beneath my touch, and her pupils dilate. Hooking my fingers at the sides of her panties, she lifts her hips off the bed as I slip them off her body. Her face flushes. "What's the matter, babe?"

"Must everything be sexual with you?" Promise fidgets.

"I'm not doing anything."

"Right." She drapes the sheet across her bottom half. Scooting to the edge of the bed, she places her feet in the stirrups Teagan already readied for her. "Stop looking at me that way—Like you want to devour me."

"I do." I have no shame in saying so.

"You're too good looking. I can't concentrate." Promise closes her eyes. "I can't look at you right now."

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